


"I like it better when you smile."

by QueenC



Series: Glimpses into the universe of us [2]
Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV)
Genre: Barely there romance, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Very Very Light Angst, alex just has a lot of feelings, apparently i can't get over how things started, charlie is a VERY good friend, post S04e04, senior camping trip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:34:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24710899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenC/pseuds/QueenC
Summary: Alex doesn't like camping. Charlie doesn't like it when Alex is distressed.
Relationships: Charlie St. George/Alex Standall
Series: Glimpses into the universe of us [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1786504
Comments: 25
Kudos: 156





	"I like it better when you smile."

**Author's Note:**

> So apparently this will turn into a series! I'll tell you this, I didn't see it coming. No one is more surprised than me.  
> You don't really need to have read the previous story to understand this one, but it works a little better, chronologically speaking and everything.
> 
> Enjoy!

Morning came bright the next day, so bright Alex felt personally affronted by its sheer disposition. It didn't help either that he felt like a truck had run him over. His body was definitely not made for sleeping on forest floors. The boy winced for the umpteenth time as he leaned down to gather his sparse belongings. He was so done with camping. For real. There was not one single aspect of this whole experience that Alex would remember as positive.

He straightened his back, closing his backpack with a slight frown. Ok, maybe that was a stretch. The boat ride with Zach had been alright – before he almost drowned, that is. But, you know, the camping trip had also served its purpose to strengthen his bond with his dad – their talk had been really good, at least before all hell broke loose and his father had to run and manage wild teenagers losing it on a school trip. Alex rolled his eyes, sourly amused. It seemed that even the few sides he could count as good were somehow tainted with bad memories.

Except. Well, except.

Alex could hear Charlie laughing outside of the tent and his insides warmed a little. Last night had been ok, he guessed. After the campfire. He couldn't come up with a bad side for it, and wasn't that a heartening thought. To be honest, Alex hadn't paid that much attention to the fact that Charlie was even on the trip before he suddenly had to bunk with him, and look at how things had played out. First he was indifferent, now he was so damn grateful.

He dropped his bag back on the floor and scrambled to the tent's opening. Shit, it _was_ too bright, Alex thought, covering his eyes with his hand. Charlie and Zach were just outside, in the middle of some stupid game that involved paper balls and wastebaskets and far too much movement for Alex's liking this early in the morning.

“Hey, Standall,” greeted Zach, and he seemed a little off, like maybe not all of the alcohol from the previous day had yet left his system. “Look what I can do!”

Zach turned on his back and threw a paper ball over his shoulder. Unsurprisingly, it went straight into the wastebasket. Charlie whistled and clapped, looking up at Zach with just the right amount of admiration to make Alex snort a laugh. Seriously, what is it with jocks and showing off their physical prowess.

“Awesome,” drawled Alex, crossing his arms over his chest, still squinting a little under the sun. “Obviously an ability not one single being can live without.”

“Would you like to try?” Zach waggled his eyebrows, throwing him a paper ball. Alex leaned his body away from it, and the ball fell woefully to the ground.

“How can you be this motivated?” Alex asked, bewildered. “We just went through a whole night of sleeping over rocks.”

“Over rocks _and_ over snores,” pointed Charlie with a smile, crunching a paper ball in his hand. “I knew there had to be some bait there when you so promptly accepted to bunk with me, Zach.” Charlie threw the ball over his shoulder and turned around expectantly to see his outcome. His expression fell a little when he realized he had missed his target for a couple of inches, but he scurried after the little ball nonetheless to give it another try.

“I don't snore. That's absurd,” stated Zach, and he sounded so dignified Alex would have believed him, had he not just shared a tent with him. Zach and Charlie started to banter over snores and paper balls and whatever else, and Alex zoned out of their conversation for a while, his eyes wandering distractedly to Charlie.

Their late-night conversation seemed to have been more beneficial than Alex had anticipated, for he was finding hard to remember why he had been so upset the day before. Of course, objectively _he knew why_ , but it was easier to push the thoughts away having his friends around to distract him. Alex felt like some dead weight had dislodged inside his guts and was making its way out of his chest very slowly, but not as painfully as before. He felt so grateful he could still count on some people. And he would never downplay the importance Zach had and still has in his life, of course, but as he had poured his heart out for him at the lake's shore, Alex hadn't felt this light. He had felt... better, because he wasn't carrying this around alone anymore, but it still had made him feel oddly inadequate. Like it was somehow his fault Winston had picked on him; like he was endangering every single one of his friends just because. Zach had reassured him he was not at fault, but it was not a novelty that Alex's mind liked to guilt-trip him into very dark places. In the end, he had just nodded and quieted, not really able or willing to put his worries into words.

Then came the campfire, and his change of tents, and his first talk to Charlie last night. And then some other lighter ones, before they made their sleeping arrangements. And then that somewhat awkward one where Charlie seemed very intent to make a point that he wasn't a kid. And now Charlie seemed to be all over in his thoughts, but not in an overwhelming manner, not in a way that made Alex itchy because of it. Alex found it was... distracting, maybe. In a good way. Charlie was probably gaining his trust very quickly and very under his nose, and if Alex were to be honest with himself, he wasn't worrying as much as he thought he should.

(But he would deny it fiercely to anyone, of course. Alex felt like all of his hackles were continuously raised since last morning because of fucking Winston, and he was finding it hard to make it otherwise – except for Charlie, apparently.)

As if summoned by the mere fleeting thought of his person, Winston's voice sounded low by his side, pulling him out of his deep thoughts.

“Hey, stranger.” His hands were shoved inside his pockets, and he looked all pretty and innocent, and his eyes shone soft and pleading, and Alex wished he could whack him on the head. Hard. “Did you chill enough to maybe tell me what was that all about yesterday?”

Alex deadpanned. “Did I chill?” He repeated, voice dripping sarcasm as he glared daggers at his ex-boyfriend slash newfound enemy. “Did I...?” Alex cut himself off, one hand nervously rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to, well, be chill. “Why are you still acting like you don't know shit? Some speech you gave last night, about knowing who folks around here really are.” Alex tried to bite his tongue, he really did. The last thing he wanted was to show how unsettled the whole affair had made him feel.

“It wasn't about you, then,” Winston frowned, taking one small step towards him.

“It never really was, was it?” Alex smiled half-heartedly. Winston seemed to hesitate and Alex shook his head. “I talked to Tyler. I know you know what I'm talking about. I owe you, like, zero explanations.”

Winston opened his mouth to say something and then quickly closed it again, his gaze assessing the other boy. Alex was on the edge of crumbling under his stare. He felt stupid for ever having trusted him. He felt sick that he was used. He felt his chest constrict, and all he wanted to do was run the hell away from here.

He also felt a hand on his shoulder, and it grounded him a bit, even before he knew who it was. When he chanced a look and found Charlie staring back at him, he was able to breathe again.

“All good here?” Charlie asked, and moved on without giving neither of them the time to answer. “Glad I found you, Alex, I need some help wrapping some things up in my backpack. Seems like it won't close for nothing.” He nodded his head blankly to Winston and squeezed Alex's shoulder lightly. Alex took the chance and turned on his heel, not sparing one last look at Winston even when he heard the other boy calling his name.

He sank on the top of his rolled-up sleeping bag, trying to steady his breath. Somewhere in his conscience, he registered Charlie entering the tent after him, but his mind only stopped racing when he heard Winston's footsteps retreating on the outside.

“What was that about?” Alex said a bit shakily, despite his best efforts not to show anything. “The sun wasn't even all up yet and your things were already packed.”

“I know. Just thought maybe you needed a way out there,” Charlie shrugged, his tone sounding more restrained than Alex had heard so far. Alex lifted his eyes and noticed his expression also looked a bit wary. “But I didn't mean to be intrusive, and I'm sorry if I was. It's just-- your face was doing this strange thing, and I like it better when you smile.”

Alex felt all the air rush out of his chest and he realized with a start that he was laughing. It was hard to rein it in for a bit after that – out of relief, out of fondness, out of goddamn Charlie St. George showing up and saving the day. And now Charlie stood there seeming genuinely worried for having overstepped and the worst part, _the worst part_ , Alex thought as he fought down his fit of nervous laughter, was that Alex was just so fine with it he hadn't even considered it to be too much until Charlie brought it up.

“It wasn't-- Well, maybe it was a little intrusive, yes, but you came right on time,” he reassured, catching a stray tear of laughter from the corner of his eye. Charlie followed his movement and Alex felt suddenly a little self-conscious. But he soldiered on, figuring Charlie had just bared a bit more of himself than he probably intended, too. “I do appreciate your intrusiveness in this case.”

Charlie smiled and nodded, and just like that he seemed to be back to his general, usual confident mood. Alex stared a bit in wonder. How did that even work? How would it be like to just brush things off this easily?

“Where's Zach?” Alex asked, only paying half attention to the answer.

“He went to help your dad check on the students packing things up,” informed Charlie, looking around as if reality only just dawned on him. “Which reminds me. We should get started on this tent.”

“Well, it's not my tent exactly, is it,” argued Alex. “I was just a very distinguished guest for what, one night.”

“Nice try,” Charlie smiled, amused. “But you're not getting out of this one. Can't do it alone, and once Zach's not around, you'll have to put some muscle in.”

“Even if I'm still all mopey and shit?” Alex tried. It was not beneath him to use some of his very real recent affairs to escape unnecessary heavy work, thank you very much.

“Well, are you?” Charlie's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “Do you want me to cheer you up?” He threw the question offhandedly and didn't really give Alex time to answer before he was crunching down next to his backpack, going through its contents in a rush. Alex thought he might have a faint idea of what was about to come.

“I swear to God, if the next thing that comes out of there is a bag of cookies--” Alex started in a warning tone.

Charlie stood up, proudly holding in his hand what was undoubtfully, yes, a container of his so treasured granola camp cookies. He smiled so brightly as he offered it to Alex that the older boy didn't have it in him to even finish his threat.

Alex sighed, defeated, fighting off a smile as he reached out to pick up a cookie. He shoved it in his mouth in one go, scowling just to make a point. “Fine,” he groused around his mouthful. “These are some miraculous cookies. I'm all cheered up now. Let's just do this tent thing already.”

Charlie didn't buy his faux-annoyance for one single second. After all, he _could_ make some damn good cookies. (And as far as he would risk his guessings, he was not so bad at cheering Alex up, too.)

**Author's Note:**

> thanks so much for reading!


End file.
